Reaching
by LilacLilyFlower
Summary: Hikari: light, 光. When Hikari is born, the first thing she registers is colors and pain. Rated M in case.
1. Prologue

_Reaching_

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

-O-O-O-O-

Prologue

Her first memory is of colors.

Or rather, the color red.

There was the golden red that brought warmth and soothing, then the orange red that was _so hot and terrifying and choking_, then a flash of yellow and calm, and loud cries that originated from the wriggling heat by her side.

Then silence.

-O-O-O-O-

Her next oldest memory consisted of blobs that coursed with a shimmering blue.

_Chakra_, she later learned. It was the source of life, physical and spiritual energy.

Each blob had a slightly different feel to it. The biggest blob sparked like a flint, and as it approached, she turned her head away from its brilliance, right into the bundle of yellow by her side.

Curious, she reached out to examine the new blob. It stretched out its tendrils like the sun, until she felt a trickle of orange red that _burned_.

Her screams brought the sparking blob over, and she felt herself being lifted, and calloused hands patting her back.

"Hush, child, you'll wake your brother," a gravelly voice murmured.

Her wailing gradually ceased, and with it, her consciousness.

-O-O-O-O-

She found herself surrounded by little blobs, some bigger and some (only two, really) smaller than her. The warmth from her side was gone. She was at the orphanage.

The managers, although she was still a baby, told her that her name was Hikari and never spoke to her again.

When she said her first word, "_where_", no one heard.

When she took her first step, no one saw.

And when she asked her first coherent question, "Where is my brother?", no one answered.

-O-O-O-O-

Later on, Hikari would wonder if her early memories had been delusions, because it was highly abnormal for a person to remember their infanthood, due to infantile amnesia. Then, she would remember the feel of the flinty chakra, which had the same feel as the Third Hokage's chakra, and decide that the memories were real and she was not crazy (at least, by shinobi standards).

Her first birthday passed without incident. So did her second and third. Starting with her fourth, she woke up to find a little book with the faintest traces of flinty chakra on her bed the morning of her birthday. Hikari was a little disturbed each time that someone had stood over her while she was sleeping, but since that person didn't do anything to harm her, she found no reason to be really alarmed.

The book she had received on her fourth birthday was titled _Chakra: What it is and What it Does_, according to Ami, one of the caretakers. She begged for her to teach her to read, and Ami reluctantly agreed.

The two spent three weeks going over the basics, and by two months, Hikari could read kanji, albeit slowly and with much difficulty.

She began to spend most of her time in the library, reading about any subject from folklore to fuinjutsu, the sealing arts. She learned about shinobi and the history of her village-Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves-and above all, else, she learned that she wanted to become a shinobi.

Shinobi were strong. They could do feats that civilians couldn't, such as walking on water, or breathing fire. They could protect and kill, erase someone from existence, and find others. And what she really wanted in the end was to find her brother.

She had tried, of course. She had extended her sense-chakra sense, according to books-and had attempted to locate the sun with the burning orange red center, but her sensory range had been too small to reach outside of the room she shared with 5 others, let alone the entire orphanage. And besides, it was entirely possible that her brother wasn't even in the same orphange as her.

The fact was, she couldn't find her brother at her current status, so she would become a shinobi to learn how to find, how to track.

-O-O-O-O-

The older children had begun attending the Academy. They had come back and bragged about becoming shinobi, and the information they were learning. When she asked if they could share the information with her, they had yelled at her to "stop bugging us and go away, brat".

Miffed, she instead returned to her books to prepare for when she went to the Academy. She frequently fell asleep at the library, only to wake up in her own bed with the last vestiges of jumpy, erratic chakra that was completely unlike the sparking one wisping away.

Hikari realized that she had at least two people looking out for her, even though she didn't know who. Probably shinobi, judging by the way she never felt their presence. Either way, she felt comforted knowing that there were people looking out for her.

Then, after her sixth birthday had passed, came the day she put a face to the flinty chakra.

"Kids, wash up well today," Ami barked. "The Third Hokage is coming today to see who's going to attend the Academy."

Finally! She would finally be able to enroll! And if she enrolled, her brother probably would too because they were the same age.

She smiled as she pulled her hair (which was golden red, warmth and soothing, unlike the orange red that choked and burned burned burned) into neat pigtails, and practiced her puppy eyes in the mirror in case she had to change the Third Hokage's mind. Wide, blue, with the slightest hint of tears. Perfect.

"Children," Ami called much more pleasantly than usual, "Hokage-sama is here."

Hikari grinned at her reflection one last time before sprinting towards the sound of gathering children.

When she got to the doorway of the room, she paused. _No way_. But her sense had never been wrong before, so it had to be.

She could feel the Third Hokage's chakra, _flinty, sparking chakra. _She didn't say anything, though, and instead took a seat on one of the many couches in the room.

And even though the Third had barely given her a passing glance, it felt like he was watching her.

"Hello," he said, smiling gently around his pipe. "I'm here to talk about the Academy today."

He paused to survey the eager faces before him. "If you choose to enroll, the work will be hard. Your body and mind will be pushed to the limits, but if you can manage, you will earn the chance to become shinobi.

"There are three requirements: Love the village and hope to help preserve peace and prosperity; Have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work; Be healthy in mind and body."

He smiled at them again. "I look forward to your enrollment."

The other kids cheered, but Hikari remained silent. When the children filtered out of the room, she stayed behind.

"Hokage-sama," she paused, struggling with how to approach the topic before blurting, "Hokage-sama, where's my brother?"

He eyed her strangely, and she cringed internally.

_That could have gone better._

"Child, what's your name?"

Her eyes narrowed. He knew who she was. Still, she answered, "Hikari, Hokage-sama."

He hummed thoughtfully, still eyeing her. "Why do you think you have a brother?"

"You told me!" she cried, frustrated. "When I cried because of the weird chakra!"

The Third stiffened and sharply asked, "Weird chakra?"

"Yeah! It was orangey and red, and it hurt-ttebana!" She gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. Slowly, Hikari lifted her eyes to meet those of the Third's.

He looked straight into her eyes, and pondered, "To be able to sense and remember from that age..."

He got up and made a few handseals, dispersing his chakra around the room to form the kanji for "silence". _Silencing seals._

"Alright, child, listen up. I'm going to tell you an S-rank secret." The Hokage puffed on his pipe once. "This, of course, means that you cannot tell _anyone_, even your brother."

Hikari opened her mouth to interject, but the Hokage held up a hand to silence her. "I ask that you let me finish before asking any questions."

"You probably know that you were born on the day of the Kyuubi attack, October 10th," he stated, settling down on the couch with her. "You were born Uzumaki Hikari, twin sister to Uzumaki Naruto."

Uzumaki. Her last name was Uzumaki, and her brother's name was Naruto.

"The Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into himself, but it was too large to be contained in one person, so he chose a newborn as the container of the other half of Kyuubi. The newborn was Naruto.

"The two of you were separated to protect you, in case the seal didn't hold. You also weren't told your last name because you would have been linked as the sister of a jinchuuriki, a host of a Tailed Beast, which would have made you a target."

This time, he paused slightly before continuing.

"As you know, many shinobi died that night. Your parents did too. They died protecting Konoha, and you and your brother. They were some of the noblest people I knew."

Her parents. _Momma and Daddy._

"Remember, you must not tell _anyone_, even your brother," the Third said as he got up.

As he reached the door, Hikari cried out once more.

"Wait! Who were my parents? What were they like?"

The Hokage smiled again, this time with a tinge of sorrow.

"That is a story for another time."

And halting once more, the Third added, "Work hard; I know you will do well."

And he was gone.

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Well, I've done it. I've done the most horrible, cliché thing of _Naruto._

I MADE HER NARUTO'S TWIN SISTER.

Really, the only thing that could get more cliché than this is making a Self-Insert. Not that those are bad, if they're well written!

Let's just see how this goes, yeah?


	2. Chapter 1

_Reaching_

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Credits to my friend (codename: Scuro) for playing beta!

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter 1

Her brother wasn't in her class.

She had checked the class postings, finding her name under a teacher, Hayashi Ichirou, as "Hikari". Her surname wasn't written, so she assumed that it had to be kept a secret too.

When she realized that her brother's name wasn't under the same teacher as her, she had searched the other classes for Naruto's name, and had finally found him listed under Umino Iruka. She had sighed, disappointed.

_I don't suppose I'm allowed to transfer classes_.

-O-O-O-O-

The morning passed quickly. Ichirou, a stocky Chunin with spiky purple hair and a prickly demeanor to match, ordered the students to introduce themselves and say their age, reason for attending the Academy, and the area they felt most confident in.

When it was Hikari's turn, she said with a placid face, "My name is Hikari, and I'm six. I'm here to learn how to be a shinobi, and I'm confident in chakra sensing and Fuinjutsu."

The others tittered, and a boy with sandy hair tied into a limp ponytail yelled, "Girls don't become shinobi, they become kunoichi! And I bet you don't even know what Fuinjutsu is!"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she sat down without a word.

"Oi, Strawberry! I'm talking to y-"

Ichirou interrupted, "Since you're so excited, why don't you go?"

The boy stood with a disdainful "hmph". "I'm Kurosawa Takahiro, seven years old. I'm attending to teach little girls to stop playing ninja, and I'm the best in Taijutsu!"

Hikari bristled on the inside. _I am not little! I'm taller than that brat!_

The other students finished, and Ichirou stood before clapping his hands.

"Right, you can call me Ichirou-sensei, and I'm 28. I'll teach you all how to not get killed on your first mission outside the village. Right now, we're going outside so you can demonstrate your best areas," he smirked.

..._What_.

_Seal, seal, seal. I need a seal. Which seal? Strengthening, sharpening, silencing... I know!_

While she took some ink and paper out of the little bag she had brought, she furiously tried to remember the layout for explosive tags.

Explosive tags tended to come in hexagonal arrays condensed into a rectangular area. The kanji characters surrounding the main character determined the blast radius, intensity, and type of explosive. For this, she would need one confined to at most one meter, but in exchange for size, she could ramp up the intensity, which would also mean pouring in more chakra.

That, she had plenty of. Hikari had noticed that her reserves were much larger than her peers, and most Chunin, even a few Special Jounin. She would have to research why later.

The Taijutsu "experts" were paired off and slated to go first. Takahiro won his match, unfortunately.

Ichirou then turned to Hikari. "Try and find me." He disappeared in a shower of leaves.

Hikari closed her eyes to concentrate. Her range had increased somewhat, spanning across most of the orphanage (which she no longer stayed in because she got an apartment for starting the Academy), so as long as Ichirou stayed in it, she would be fine.

Earlier, she had memorized the feel of her sensei's chakra. It was smooth and thick, like clay, and reminded her of damp earth.

_There_. On the roof.

"Roof," she stated shortly. Her peers looked up, and sure enough, he was there.

"Hmm," Ichirou said. "What if I... do this?"

He disappeared again, but before he whooshed away, Hikari caught his chakra balling up.

_He's compressing his chakra!_

She carefully scanned her surroundings for the slightest hint of clay. When she pinpointed the smallest speck on the edge of her range (after several minutes and amidst giggling and jeers), she smiled slightly and said, "Tree."

Ichirou appeared in front of her, and raised his eyebrows. "Impressive."

"Senseeeeiiii," Takahiro complained. "We've spent too much time on the girl."

"Shush. She's not done," Ichirou reprimanded.

Without further prompting, Hikari set down the ink and paper she had brought out, then looked up. "I need everyone to move back by at least two meters."

Ignoring all mutters, she kneeled on the ground and set to drawing her seal. Again, she took several minutes, but this time, no one teased.

_Point, kanji, point. Seal._

Placing her hand on the array, Hikari pumped as much chakra as she could before jumping back.

_Three, two, one._

_FWOOOOOOOOOOOM_. A hemisphere of heat and white fire _oh Kami too much chakra_ shook the ground, dislodging some of the rocks.

Hikari smirked, completely satisfied, before registering the silence. She turned to see stunned faces gaping back at her.

Slightly unnerved, Hikari searched for Ichirou, finding him behind the students. They made way for him as he strode to the front.

"Well, as great as that was, we need to carry on, so Ninjutsu, come up."

To Hikari, he said, "See me after class."

-O-O-O-O-

Hikari toed the floor nervously, disappointed that she wouldn't find her brother today. She would have to search for him after tomorrow's class.

"Hikari," Ichirou beckoned. "The Hokage was made aware of what you did today."

Her breath stuttered.

"What you did was very impressive, considering your age. Most people can't do what you did. Most people can barely copy preexisting seals. The fact that you came up with your own array is astounding.

"Since you seem to have a natural inclination for Fuinjutsu, I decided to appeal to the Hokage to get you a Fuinjutsu teacher."

Her breathing, which had steadied, completely cut. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Fortunately, Hokage-sama approved and assigned the best Fuinjutsu user we currently have in the village to you."

"Who? Who is it-ttebana?" she blabbered, disregarding her _so annoying why do I have it _verbal tick.

"Hatake Kakashi."

-O-O-O-O-

_Meet at Training Ground 3, he said. Be there by four, he said. Don't be late, he said._

Hikari was ticked.

She was at Training Ground Three. She had been there by four. She hadn't been late. And what does her sensei/mentor/babysitter (because really, that's what he was; a babysitter to make sure she didn't blow anything up) do? He doesn't show up for three. Whole. Hours.

And counting.

_You know what? No. I am not putting up with this_, Hikari thought as she swiveled to leave the training ground.

"And where are you going?" a low voice drawled.

She stiffened. _I didn't sense him._

No. It wasn't that she didn't; she _couldn't_, because he hadn't let her.

She was dealing with a very, very dangerous shinobi. (Of course, this is regarding the fact that her chakra sense wouldn't always work; he was dangerous either way.)

So, the first thing she did when she faced him was to shoot him a cold, unimpressed look.

"Yo."

She leveled a flat stare at him.

Her new sensei was very...uninspiring. She knew how lethal he could be; the library had contained many texts about him. But somehow, the overall impression she got from him was a harmless, slouching, albeit tall, man with gravity defying silver hair. And a book.

_Like I said, very, very dangerous. _

"Can you speak?" he intoned, not sounding the least bit interested.

"Yes."

"Okay."

There was a beat of awkward silence, in which he flipped the page of his book. A very bright orange book with a red circle that had a slash through it; a book she had seen before once, at the orphanage, when Ami had hidden it under her shirt with a flushed face.

"I'm a six year old, and you're reading plotless stories about gross things in front of me,"she stated rather calmly.

He looked highly affronted. "This is not a plotless story. It's high-quality literature with suspense and foreshadowing around every corner, and sensitivity to its readers."

Hikari quirked an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Anyways, Kakashi-sensei, aren't you supposed to be, I don't know, teaching me?"

_Crap. Crapcrapcrap. That was too mean._

She gave him a tentative smile to show she meant no harm, and gave him a watered down version of the Puppy Eyes of Doom no Jutsu.

He was quiet, looking at her with an unreadable light in his visible eye, before he hung his head.

She got the strangest sense that he was pouting.

"I don't like you."

_Double crap_.

"But I suppose I'll have to teach you. Let's see what you know."

Hikari beamed brightly at him, not noticing his slight flinch, and bounced over to pull out some books.

"Well, I've been learning the different structures and arrays-ttebana, and I've tried adding a spoke to the hexagonal one without combining a three point with a four point, but it never works!"

She heard a sharp inhale, and looked over to see Kakashi snatch her seven point seal designs.

"Do you realize," he began in a quiet voice, "That if you had inked these, you would have lost at least an arm?"

Her smile faltered, and he elaborated. "There's a reason that most seals are evenly pointed. Each spoke is balanced by another. If you add a seventh point without a counterbalance somehow"-here, he pointed at the seventh spoke and slid his finger directly across to the blank space between the opposing two spokes-"you get an unstable seal."

He inked the seal he held and finally unmasked his chakra to infuse the seal, which he threw to the other end of the clearing.

The resulting explosion was rather scary, especially since the seal wasn't supposed to be explosive, but Hikari didn't take much note of it. Her mind was in shock from disbelief.

_Unbelievable. His chakra is..._

"Jumpy."

"What?" Kakashi gave her a strange look.

"Your chakra. I remember it. It's jumpy," she said slowly, still in shock.

Kakashi remained silent.

_That means..._

"You really are a pervert, aren't you, Sensei," she said. He had brought her back to her room in the orphanage all those times she had fallen asleep in the library. Who knew what he could have done?

"What? No, not in the way you're thinking. How do you even know what that means?" Kakashi denied sheepishly.

"Ami, from the orphanage, " she replied, with a weirded out expression.

"I'm not a pervert," he insisted.

"Sure."

"Really, I'm not."

-O-O-O-O-

(Kakashi's POV)

Five times. His heart had been tugged painfully five times today.

When the Hokage had called him into his office, Kakashi had been expecting something simple, such as an A-Rank assassination mission. Instead, he had been told to instruct his dead sensei's child, in Fuinjutsu, no less.

_Tug_.

He was familiar with the girl. He had been instructed to watch over her and her brother when he had been in ANBU. He had even carried her home over his shoulder like a bag of rice (and he did _not _do anything to her).

Kakashi had arrived to the meeting on time, chakra compressed, to test her awareness. She had paced for three hours without registering his presence, pigtails flaring in a familiar shade of red that had brought painful memories to the surface.

_Tug_.

When he had dropped down from the tree he had been reading in, he had kept his eye on his book to avoid seeing her eyes.

Her demeanor had thrown him off, because she wasn't anything like her parents. She was rather blasé, and too composed for a six year old girl, which had finally convinced him that she wouldn't remind him of her parents, and he had worked up the courage to meet her eyes, only to see his sensei's eyes staring back. They even had the same teary touch.

_Tug_.

And when he had reluctantly told her that he would teach her, her smile was so _Sensei _that he had flinched, remembering how his sensei had given him that very smile before charging off to his death.

_Tug_.

He had found out that his little (tiny) pupil had inherited her mother's verbal tic as well as her hair and skin. The "ttebana" had taken him by surprise, and was too much after the eyes and smile, so he had inhaled sharply to clear his head.

_Tug_.

He had also learned, he noted with humor, that for all her calm and maturity, his adorable little pupil was really just a kid.

He sighed, standing in his regular spot in front of the Memorial Stone, and ran a hand through his hair. The memories had brought him earlier than usual to the stone today.

_I don't think I can do this._

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Because of the nice reviews I got, I decided to post Chapter 1, even though I was planning on updating every other week...

Kakashi has been introduced! I spent so much time planning out the scene, but it ended waaaay differently than from what I intended. I like how it turned out, though!

And I know Hikari might seem too young for Fuinjutsu, but she's spent most of her time in the library up to this point. Plus, she's an Uzumaki. It would come easier to her than most, I think.

Uzumaki=seal masters.

To my reviewers: Oh. My. Kushina. You guys made my day. I didn't think that reviews could make me feel so happy and warm inside, but they did, and I appreciate you guys so. Damn. Much. I actually teared up, I was so touched!

And to those who favorited/followed: No way, you would favorite/follow a story that's just starting out? (The outline has been in planning since 2009, but the actual typing started in 2014. And the plot will probably change.) The fact that you decided to stick with this story after _one _chapter makes me so happy, I can't even sleep.

Much love to you all!


	3. Chapter 2

_Reaching_

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Credits to my friend (codename: Scuro) for playing beta!

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter 2

Genjutsu. A technique that is employed via chakra and handseals, like Ninjutsu. However, unlike Ninjutsu, Genjutsu attacks the target's chakra paths in the brain, causing an illusory, not physical, effect.

And Hikari couldn't cast one.

She had the imagination. She had the chakra control. She had the subtlety. She had knowledge of Yin Release and its effects.

But she couldn't perform it.

Her chakra worked fine for Yang and Yin-Yang release; she had enough physical and spiritual chakra for Ninjutsu and other shinobi arts.

But Yin Release. It just wouldn't work.

Takahiro sneered at her. Hikari had been paired with him, and they were supposed to cast a minor E-Rank auditory Genjutsu on each other. Although minor, the possibilities of this Genjutsu were endless. It could be used to throw sound from a different direction and thus confuse the enemy, or silence the noises one made. Most shinobi tended to recognize visual Genjutsu, but auditory Genjutsu were harder to point out, mainly due to the lack of visual input from one's ear.

Takahiro-_more like Bakahiro_, she thought bitterly- had placed her under a Genjutsu of him yapping about his superiority and her inferiority because she was a _girl_. When she had failed, repeatedly, to cast the Genjutsu, he had crowed that this proved his point.

She kept trying, leaking chakra with abandon. The Genjutsu didn't really require control, just a set amount of chakra, so she could let it trickle without affecting the success of her Genjutsu.

Finally, Hikari sighed and gave up, biting her lip and ignoring Takahiro's lording. Approaching Ichirou's desk, she said, "Ichirou-sensei, my chakra won't conform into Yin chakra."

He glanced up from his paper grading briefly, and noncommittally hummed. "I guess you won't become a medic-nin, then."

She gnawed at her lip in frustration and uncertainty. Hikari wasn't planning on pursuing a career in the Medical Corps, but learning some medical Ninjutsu as first-aid seemed like a good idea, one that was closed off to her until she found a way to convert her chakra to Yin chakra.

-O-O-O-O-

"Alright, remember to read about Replacement Theory and practice the handseals for the Body Replacement Jutsu," Ichirou called as students filed out of the room, done with school for the day.

Hikari bolted out of her seat, chakra sense in full effect. She could afford being an hour or so late to Fuinjutsu instruction since Kakashi wouldn't show up for at least two. She was determined to find _him _today; she needed to know who he was.

_Naruto_.

"Hey, Strawberry, why are you in such a rush?" Takahiro asked as she brushed past him.

She took no notice, scanning the building as she ran down the hallway, dodging around other students. She searched intently for the sun, and yellow.

Hikari skidded to a halt at the end of the hall, brow furrowed. He wasn't in the building. She stepped outside and sighed.

And a flash of yellow caught her eye.

The world stopped.

And she felt the sun.

The sudden rush of _something _in her brought tears to her eyes, and she blinked furiously to keep them from falling. Her brother was in front of her, an actual living body, not just a memory of a small mass of warmth. Her brother. _Family_.

Hikari studied him avidly, committing his features to memory. He was sitting on the swing in front of the Academy, idly kicking at the ground. He was wearing a dark green long sleeve (like her, she realized with a twitch of the lips) with a white shirt pulled over, and black shorts. His hair was sunlight, and his eyes were the sky, but his face (which was quite cute with its whisker markings) was pulled into a cloudy, yearning scowl towards the other children leaving.

_He shouldn't be unhappy._

The reflexive anger Hikari felt was so sudden that she brought a hand up to her mouth, surprised by the loss of control over her emotions and the raw fury she felt. She hated his sadness. Someone she remembered as so warm and bright shouldn't be sad.

She vowed, in that moment, to do anything necessary to keep him in the light, even if that meant walking in darkness.

_I need to hear his voice._

Slowly, carefully, she nonchalantly strolled towards him at a casual pace. When she was halfway to him, there was a poof and a hand clasped down onto her shoulder, and a whoosh before her surroundings suddenly jerked and changed.

Bewildered, Hikari looked up and saw a shock of silver hair and a slanted Hitai-ate. Her eyes widened, before a murderous expression flashed across her face and mild Killing Intent filled the air.

She spun around and dashed back in the direction of the Academy, but she ended up running into an olive green flak vest. Hikari tried ducking around Kakashi, but he kept catching her.

"Get. Out. OF. MY. WAY!" she screamed, hurling herself at Kakashi. She punched and kicked and even bit at whatever openings she could find, but none of her attacks landed. She growled and sped up, slapping down seals everywhere while crying and howling about the different ways she would tear him apart.

He let her attack, blocking but not retaliating. Eventually, her barrage ceased, and her crying was the only sound that echoed in the damaged clearing.

Wrists held gently by Kakashi, Hikari collapsed and sobbed into his vest, "I want my brother, I want my family, I want my brother..." as he awkwardly patted her head.

When she was calm again sometime later, she said, embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you, right?"

He gave her a look that clearly said "I'm-an-Elite-Jounin-and-you-are-a-six-year-old-Academy-student".

"Right," she muttered, scrubbing at the tears that _just would not stop_.

She heard a sigh and looked up.

"I think," Kakashi said, "We need to have a discussion."

-O-O-O-O-

They sat in the middle of the decimated training ground, face to face. Kakashi didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.

"You're overly dependent on your brother."

She opened her mouth to argue that no, she was _not_ overly dependent on Naruto, she could cook and wash and dress herself, but he cut her off.

"If he left Konoha at this instant, would you follow? Or would you stay and report him, possibly getting him killed?"

She mulled over the question. Her initial response was to say that she would stop him but not report him either. Then, she realized the point of the question, and snorted bitterly.

_Family versus village._

She wanted to say village. It was the right answer, after all. But she just found the only family she had, and she wasn't going to give that up.

Instead, she chose to stay silent, avoiding Kakashi's eye.

"Uzumaki Hikari," he said, "You will be given a mission."

She started, but wasn't very surprised that he knew her surname. Curious, she gave him her full attention.

"This mission is of the upmost importance. The safety of the village depends on it," Kakashi informed gravely, somehow looming over her.

Hikari's eyes widened, confused. Why was something like this delegated to her? Also, wasn't the Hokage supposed to assign things, not Elite Jounin?

"Your mission is to… make a friend."

-O-O-O-O-

(Takahiro's POV)

He couldn't stand Strawberry.

When she had been unable to cast the Genjutsu on him, he had felt a surge of triumph. He could do something that the Fuinjutsu prodigy couldn't; he'd tell his parents and they'd stop going on about how she's such a _poor thing, she has no family but she's so strong_.

Although she hadn't said anything, everyone knew that she was being taught by Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin, and that Ichirou-sensei was the one who had gotten him as a teacher for her.

It wasn't fair. If she was so good at Fuinjutsu, why couldn't he get a mentor for his Taijutsu, since he was best in his class in that subject? Why would anyone even care about that stupid Strawberry anyways? She was just an orphan with no name.

He felt guilty for the last thought. Even though his parents overlooked him sometimes, he still had a family.

And it wasn't like she went around bragging about herself either. Takahiro knew that he was just jealous of the attention she was getting, although she ignored it. She obviously had something going on, because of the way she rushed past him the day before with a desperate look in her eyes.

That's why, when she approached him and asked if he could help her with Genjutsu, he didn't say anything about her needing help.

But _Kami_, it was frustrating.

"No, you need to push out the chakra like it's grains of sand, not drops of water!"

Her brow furrowed. "But I _am_. I'm releasing it the way the books say to."

He scratched his cheek, unsure of what else to do. Then, he had a revelation so brilliant that he could feel the light of the heavens shining down on him.

"Your chakra sense! Use your chakra sense!"

She stared at him with a blank face. He shifted, uncomfortable, until she finally spoke, slowly as if with a young child (which they both were, but it's the thought that counts). "I've already tried that, Bakahiro-san."

"What did you just call me? You stupid Strawberry!" he spluttered.

"Bakahiro-san! Don't you think I would have tried using my chakra sense? Do you really think I'm that dumb?"

"Well, you can't do Genjutsu, so I guess you are!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They glared at each other, eyes crackling with lightning. Then, suddenly, she relaxed, laughing softly before shooting him a shy smile.

"Thanks."

He blinked, confused about her sudden mood swing, before realizing something with fascination.

_Her smile is pretty. She's really, really pretty when she smiles._

He examined himself for a quickening heart, sweaty hands, flushed cheeks. Nothing. Even more confused, he turned to her, when she added, with a teasing glint, "Even though you suck at teaching and didn't really help me."

"STRAWBERRY!"

-O-O-O-O-

(Back to Hikari!)

It had been nice, acting like she was in a rivalry with Takahiro.

But that was all it was: acting.

And it had been difficult, smiling and laughing on command. Kunoichi classes weren't even at the point of faking reactions yet. It had felt unnatural, pretending to be feeling happy when she wasn't.

Why would she be happy? Her Genjutsu hadn't improved at all. How would she protect her little brother if she couldn't perform one of the basic Shinobi Arts?

It didn't surprise her when she thought of Naruto as younger than her. He was vulnerable, something to be protected. And Kakashi wouldn't teach her or even let her see or contact Naruto until he had proof that she had a friend. And how was she supposed to give him proof? You can't _prove_ a friendship, right?

She didn't have time for friends. She needed to get to Naruto.

Besides, from the books she had read, all friendships were fake; there were always people lying and backstabbing each other. The only thing she could rely on was family.

But, to be honest, bantering with Takahiro had been…fun. He had brought out a side she didn't know she had. A new, immature, childish side.

Which is why she couldn't become friends with him. Takahiro interfered with her goal of reaching Naruto.

She reported to Kakashi, seeing as how this wasn't an official mission. "Objective accomplished," she lied.

"Nope," Kakashi rejected.

Her jaw dropped. How in the name of the Fourth Hokage did he know? "You don't know if I'm lying or not."

"Actually, I do," he countered, finally looking up from his book.

She waited impatiently for him to explain, but when no explanation came forth, she rolled her eyes before asking, "How do you know?"

His eye curved as he said, "Because you're basically the me from the past!"

That made absolutely no sense. If Hikari imagined Kakashi as a six year old, she saw a miniature version of him, infuriating and frustrating, without the flak vest. "I'm pretty sure I'm more serious than you were."

"You'd be surprised," he mused.

She continued, ignoring his comment. "And wouldn't that mean you have friends now?" _Somehow, I don't think his stellar personality would let him have many friends. Not that I'm that approachable either._

"Ah. Well you see, I have someone that's somewhat-"

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" a voice boomed as a green blur appeared out of nowhere. Hikari squeaked (which she denied ever happened later) and darted behind Kakashi, clutching his vest.

"I CHALLENGE YOU TO A CONTEST!" the voice continued. Hikari peeked out from behind Kakashi to see a man in a spandex-_eww_-jumpsuit, flak vest, and super thick black eyebrows. And a bowl cut.

_This is Kakashi-sensei's friend? Rival?_

"Oh, hello there Gai. Did you say something?" Kakashi drawled.

The man-Gai-gasped and clutched his heart. "THE COOL, HIP EXTERIOR! I WILL DEFEAT IT ONE DAY!" He spotted Hikari and dashed into her face.

"WHY, HELLO THERE, YOUNG BLOSSOM! I SEE YOU FOUND MY ETERNAL RIVAL AS A TEACHER! TELL ME, does he teach well?" Gai said, rubbing his chin with a glint in his eye.

Before Hikari could answer, Kakashi cut off her view of Gai with an arm. "Gai, you should stop before she becomes even more traumatized than she already is."

He pulled back, only to thrust a fist in Kakashi's face. "THEN I CHALLENGE YOU TO A ROUND OF JANKENPON!"

Humming in agreement, Kakashi put his book away and flexed his fingers. He curled them into a fist, and Hikari could feel chakra pooling in his hands, before Gai _and_ Kakashi shouted.

"JANKENPON!"

_This is ridiculous_. Hikari left before the results of the match came out, in case that Gai person started crying or something. _Besides, Kakashi-sensei would win_.

She headed back towards her apartment, stopping at the grocery store along the way. The old lady behind the counter smiled at her and gave her a lollipop after billing her groceries. Hikari thanked her and turned to leave, only to sense Takahiro's shivering chakra.

_I might as well try being friends with him now_, she thought as she exited and stuck the lollipop in her mouth. She walked a little further to the source of the chakra, and saw the familiar, sandy ponytail.

"Takahiro-san!" she called, as he jolted and whisked around. He pulled a face, but before he could speak, a woman behind him-_must be his mother_, she thought with a pang-exclaimed, "Oh, Takahiro! I didn't know you were friends with this girl!"

She halted in her tracks. _This girl_. Why did the woman speak of her like that? She plastered a smile on her face and advanced forward.

"I'm sorry, I never caught your name," Hikari chirped. Inwardly, she shuddered at her tone.

"Oh, you're so cute! I'm Natsuko. You can call me Oba-san. Why don't you join us for dinner?" the woman fired in quick succession.

Hikari blinked until she caught up with the replies. She shot a glance at Takahiro, who refused to meet her eyes with a dark scowl on his face.

"Ah, sorry. I need to go put my groceries away and study, but thank you for the offer," she replied.

Natsuko turned to her son. "She's so responsible and polite! You could learn a few things from her!"

Takahiro's face merely twisted further.

"Don't make that face at me! Your grades are so low, and your classmate is already being taught by Hatake Kakashi! Can't you step it up and have something for us to be proud about too?"

Takahiro exploded. "Well, my _genius_ classmate needed my help today in Genjutsu! Maybe you should pay attention to me instead of a nobody! You would know that I'm best in class for Taijutsu!"

Hikari almost dropped her bags, but she got a hold of herself and slowly backed away.

"Sorry, Natsuko-san. I need to be somewhere," she choked out before sprinting away. She could hear Natsuko lecturing Takahiro as she left.

"Don't call her that! How would you feel if your father and I…"

Arriving at her apartment, Hikari released a breath she didn't know she was holding. The situation had been so tense, and she had never seen Takahiro like that.

_Although, it does explain why he acts the way he does…_

She flopped into her bed after storing away her groceries, eyes closing. She could review Replacement in the morning.

-O-O-O-O-

**Omake** (after Kakashi assigns the mission)

"You're not serious, right?"

"I assure you, I am very serious. You need to make a friend. You're too lonely for your age."

She let herself fall onto her back in hopelessness. "Does it even matter to you? Aren't you doing this because Hokage-sama told you to?"

"Well, yes, but this impedes your progress, and I need to keep my teaching record clean," Kakashi retorted, internally laughing at the irony of his statement. "Any questions?"

Hikari was quiet, before saying, "Yes, actually. How old are you?"

Caught off guard, Kakashi replied truthfully. "Nineteen."

"Oh, so your hair is natural, not from old age."

"What about my hair? Are you calling me old?"

"Ojii-san-sensei!"

"Get back here!"

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Here's Chapter 2! This is the last time I'm going to update this quickly, and I'm going to start following my schedule of at least once every two weeks.

I included an omake for my reviewers, because you guys are all so amazing! Especially the ones who reviewed again, like** tsubame. hayakaze** and **Superanonymouscarrots**. Thank you all!

This chapter was a little dramatic, and very "I don't have time for friends", which is kinda…Mary Sueish…

I cry.

But there wasn't really a way to phrase it differently, so please forgive me!

Anyways, see you all in (maybe) two weeks!


	4. Chapter 3

_Reaching_

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Credits to Scuro for beta-ing.

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter 3

Hikari was _pissed_.

Her Fuinjutsu was stagnating, she couldn't find Kakashi anywhere outside of training, which lasted for five minutes before he poofed off to somewhere, the bakery had run out of coffee macaroons, and Takahiro wasn't speaking to her.

How, exactly, was she supposed to become friends with someone who refused any forms of contact with her? Obviously, he was upset over what had happened; Hikari observed during Taijutsu that his forms were sloppy, which would normally never happen.

Angrily, she added more force to her katas, thrusting an arm out and accidentally smacking an older classmate in the face.

_Oops_. She had hit a girl with black hair and eyes. _Uchiha Fumiko._

Uchiha Fumiko was somewhat of an abnormality amongst Uchiha. She was extremely beautiful as all Uchiha were, but instead of the arrogance Hikari had heard about, she possessed kindness. Also, there was a rumor going around that she was engaged to the clan heir.

"Ah, sorry!" Fumiko apologized.

"Oh, no, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention," she responded, tugging a pigtail. _Her chakra is so…dark._

Fumiko's lip quirked. "You're Hikari-san, right?" she asked as she leaned forward, hands clasped behind her back.

"Yes."

"I can call you Hikari-chan, right? Since I'm older than you," Fumiko said. Her eyes curved as she shot a warm smile at her.

Hikari nodded in affirmation.

"Great! Let's hang out after class today!"

_A chance for a friend!_

She blinked, before realizing something. "I'm sorry, Fumiko-san, but I have additional training and instruction today after class. Maybe another time?"

"Okay then, try asking your sensei for some time off, ok? See you!"

As Fumiko flounced away, Hikari allowed herself a small smirk.

_Oh, I'll definitely ask him._

-O-O-O-O-

"So I won't be able to make it tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Because I'm hanging out with my _friend_, Uchiha Fumiko."

"Alright."

She stared at Kakashi in disbelief. She had a friend. Why wasn't he saying anything about her getting to see Naruto?

"I'll tell you all about my time hanging out with my _friend_."

"Please do. Have fun."

Frustrated, she left the training grounds and headed towards her apartment, planning on dropping by the Uchiha compound before going home. Then, she realized that she didn't know where the compound was, and had to swallow the urge to rip her hair out.

_I don't want to talk with any of the stuffy police force._

Smoothing her face into a mask of glass, she tentatively approached an Uchiha with unkempt hair patrolling the marketplace. "Excuse me."

He said nothing and continued with his steady trudge around the perimeter of the bustling square.

"Uchiha-san."

This time, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, but didn't do anything else.

Hikari snarled internally. _I can't deal with any obstinacy anymore. I can't._ She plodded after him, and when she was within contact, she whapped the Uchiha on the back, right where the stupid red and white fan was.

He stiffened, and slowly turned to her with glinting, red eyes.

_Oh. I shouldn't have done that._

"Uchiha-san, I've been trying to get your attention for a while. Will you tell me where the Uchiha compound is?" she asked quickly, before he started acting on his anger.

"What business would a non-clan member have with our esteemed compound?" the Uchiha questioned with a surprisingly calm voice.

She moistened her lips before considering her next words carefully. "Earlier, Fumiko-san invited me to hang out with her sometime, and I need to tell her that I made time for tomorrow."

He scrutinized her, scanning her with those crimson eyes, before the red faded into black suddenly, and Hikari found a hand thrust in her face.

"Okay! You pass the Sharingan scan!" he chirped happily, grinning widely.

Dumbfounded, she stared blankly at the offered hand. _Wait. He's an Uchiha, right? Did he just smile at me? That wasn't a smirk, right? RIGHT?_

"Oi, brat, I haven't got all day. Hurry up and get on my back. I'll get us there in less than a second," the Uchiha said with irritation in his voice.

Cautiously, she accepted his hand and was thrown unceremoniously onto his back.

"Hold on tight!"

She barely managed to secure her arms around his neck before a blast of gritty—_Why is his chakra so grainy?_—chakra propelled them forward, and her surroundings blurred before everything jolted to a halt, and she found herself in front of a tall, wooden gate.

"Fumiko lives in the fourth biggest house. I'll take you there," the Uchiha offered. He began sauntering into the compound, and Hikari tripped slightly before matching his pace.

Around them, Uchiha of varying ages (but not coloring; they all had dark hair and eyes and were beautiful) stared at the pair walking down the street. Hikari felt self-conscious with her red hair and blue eyes, and ducked her head down, wishing she had one of those Uchiha shirts with high collars to hide her face.

They arrived at a grand house that had a large porch with sliding rice paper doors. Hikari expected for her companion to leave her, but he slid the door open and walked right in.

"I'm home!" he announced.

_Wait, what? He lives here? Doesn't Fumiko live here? Are they related?_

She mentally smacked herself for the last thought. Of course they were related, every Uchiha was. But what were the chances that of all the Uchiha she decided to approach, she chose Fumiko's brother?

"Fumi-chaaaaan, a little strawberry is here to see you!" her guide sang out while pulling her in. She gritted her teeth at the word "strawberry". Couldn't people be more creative?

Instead of Fumiko, a boy with long, glossy hair tied into a low ponytail walked out of what Hikari assumed to be the kitchen. Another younger boy around her age with hair that spiked in the back followed closely.

"You're noisy, Shisui," the older boy stated calmly.

Her guide—Shisui—leaped towards him with his arms outstretched. "Itachi!"

Itachi sidestepped neatly before turning to Hikari, ignoring the now-whimpering heap of Shisui on the ground, who was being poked by the younger boy, with well-practiced ease.

"I'm sorry if he gave you any trouble. He tends to aggravate everyone. Sasuke, stop poking Shisui," he said.

"Oh, no, he was very helpful. He brought me here so I can speak with Fumiko-san," she responded politely. This was Uchiha Itachi, the genius heir who graduated from the Academy early. She memorized his chakra signature, smooth and slow like syrup, and also the younger boy's, smoldering and hot, just in case.

"Itachi-kun? Is everything ok?" Fumiko's voice called before she popped her head out of the kitchen. She took in the sight of her brother whining, collapsed, and Sasuke who was crouching next to him, before her eyes landed on Itachi and Hikari. Her face brightened. "Hikari-chan! Hi! Come into the kitchen! In fact, all of you come into the kitchen!"

Fumiko hustled them all in and rather forcefully sat them at the table. "Anything to drink? We have water, milk, strawberry juice—"

"Just water, please," Hikari interrupted, cheek muscle twitching at the mention of "strawberry".

While she sipped her water, Shisui chattered with his relatives. "Why are you and Sasuke here, Itachi?"

Itachi responded in that calm manner of his. "Our parents wanted us to spend time with each other, and Sasuke decided to come with me."

_Oh, so they are engaged._

"Ah, I see. Fumi-chan, why don't you introduce your friend to us?"

Fumiko smiled, before saying, "This is Hikari-chan! She's in my Academy class, and is really good at sensing chakra, and Fuinjutsu. She created an exploding tag on the first day!"

"Ooooh, yeah, I heard about that!" Shisui exclaimed, laughing. "Apparently the kids in the building thought there was an earthquake! Good job!" He slapped Hikari on the back, and she choked before spraying water across the table into Sasuke's face.

"Eww!" Sasuke yelled. "You're just like Naruto!"

Hikari's attention sharpened at the mention of Naruto. Sasuke was in Naruto's class? "I'm sorry. What do you mean, about Naruto?" she asked, desperate for some information on him.

"He's always goofing off during class and playing pranks on Iruka-sensei, and he's a loudmouth too!"

Her brother was…a brat?

"Sasuke," Itachi reprimanded. Sasuke pouted before slouching lower in his seat.

Some silence ensued before Fumiko said, "Anyways, why did you come over, Hikari-chan?"

"I cleared my schedule, so I can hang out after class tomorrow. At least, I think I can. Kakashi-sensei didn't really give me an answer."

The five chatted a bit before Hikari left. When she reached her apartment, she thrust a fist in the air, satisfied with successfully scheduling a hang out.

She puttered around her bedroom for a while, cleaning up the clutter from her Fuinjutsu while thinking about Kakashi's lack of words on Naruto. He had said that she could see him after making a friend, and when she said she made a friend (after the attempt with Takahiro, who she wasn't too keen on being friends with anymore; how dare he call her a nobody), he hadn't said anything about _not_ being able to see Naruto.

She resolved to meet Naruto after hanging out with Fumiko. She'd track him down; Sasuke might have information on his haunts.

But how would she introduce herself when (not if) she found him?

_Hi, I'm your long lost sister who didn't approach you until now._

_Hi, I'm related to you._

_Hi, I've been searching for you my entire life because you're my brother._

_Hi, we're twins._

_Hi, you have no idea how much I miss you and love you and care about you. Family, yeah?_

_Hi, do you know the pain I felt when my sensei prevented me from seeing you?_

_Hi, my name is Uzumaki Hikari. You're Uzumaki Naruto. We're Uzumakis. We're siblings._

_Hi, do you want to learn about Fuinjutsu? I heard we Uzumaki are particularly skilled at it._

_Hey, you! Yes, you! Do you have a tremendous amount of chakra and stamina? Do you heal slightly faster than the average shinobi? If so, you might be an Uzumaki, just like me!_

Hikari sighed before faceplanting onto her bed. _Maybe don't tell him about being related. Hokage-sama said not to, anyways._

Pacing around the room once more, she chewed on her lip as she thought.

_Then, what about, "Hi! My name is Hikari. What about you? Do you want to be friends?"_

Friends. Not family. Naruto would see her as a friend, not a sister.

The thought filled Hikari with so much pain and anguish. She had been separated from her brother a little bit after their birth, and he didn't remember, unlike her. He didn't know about how his hair reflected the light into her eyes, or how his chakra had shined like the sun, brilliantly blue and pulsing so strongly through his still-developing system, or how his warmth had comforted her, before the brightness and healthiness and warmth had disappeared, leaving only emptiness and the cold.

Why did she have to restrain herself from revealing that she was his sister? It's not like that information would make it out of the village. She was in Konoha. She was safe.

Resigning herself to another day of classes before searching for Naruto, she undid her hair from its pigtails and changed into her pajamas, making sure that her Fuinjutsu equipment was on the stand by her bed.

As she settled into bed, she resolved that tomorrow would be a better day.

-O-O-O-O-

"Bye, Kari-chan!" Fumiko called as they separated.

After classes, Hikari and Fumiko had gone to the market and gotten some ice cream. They had talked for a while, letting their feet lead them aimlessly, and had arrived at the training grounds. There, they had decided to have a chakra control contest (which Fumiko won, probably because she was older, or so Hikari thought while nursing her wounded pride) before showing their best skills to each other.

Fumiko had shown an impressive Ninjutsu display of flames and bigger flames, and Hikari had closely examined her chakra as she powered through her jutsus. Fumiko's dark chakra had slowly gained speed as it circulated to her hands and mouth, and lightened in color and feeling until she blew out; then, it had massed into a cloud of violently hot chakra before the flames appeared.

Impressed, Hikari decided to show off too, and had offered a seal to Fumiko, who took it without hesitation, before releasing the slip of paper with an undignified yelp. Hikari had collapsed with laughter before explaining that she had designed a numbing seal, which would spark some electricity, its amount depending on how much chakra was infused, into anything in contact with it. For Fumiko, she had charged the seal with a miniscule amount of chakra, which resulted in a static shock.

Then, they said goodbye.

And now Hikari could look for Naruto.

She ran eagerly towards the marketplace, which was the center of all activity and gossip. With her brother's reputation as a prankster, all she had to do was listen for word of a troublemaker, and it would probably be Naruto.

Passing by a ramen stall—Ichiraku Ramen—on the other side of the street, she heard whispers from some village mothers.

"That ramen stall owner used to be sensible, but nowadays, I don't know what's going on in his head."

"Right? I always thought that he was kind, but this is too much. That demon doesn't deserve kindness after what it did to us."

"That fox brat doesn't deserve to live in this village, let alone kindness. Why does it get to stay in the village it destroyed?"

_Fox brat._ The Kyuubi.

Unknowingly, Hikari leaked some Killing Intent towards the mothers, who shivered with a sense of foreboding. She rushed across the street to the curtains outside of the ramen stall, where she could feel a thriving, sunny chakra, now that she noticed it.

_This is it._

Step.

_I'll get to meet him._

Step.

_I'll get to talk with him._

Lift.

_Naruto._

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'll leave you guys with that ^^

For the sudden appearance of Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui: NO, I don't plan on writing a romance between any of them and Hikari. That's too…ick. It's a can of dead, limp, white worms waiting to be opened; in other words, a disaster.

HEY REVIEWERS AND FOLLOWERS AND FAVORITERS: If you guys have any requests for oneshots or omakes about anything (even though it's a little too early for any of that), tell me via review! I'll pick one and write it when I have time. It can be about anything with anyone, from anyone's perspective, but I have one requirement: Hikari must be included in it somehow.

And is it possible to tell what Hikari's personality is like? I'm not sure if I'm conveying her the way I imagined her to be. And are any of the canon characters out of character?

See you all next time!


	5. Oneshot 1

REQUESTED ONESHOT: Sasuke and Hikari, Slapshipping

_Milestones_

(Note: This is an AU in which Sasuke doesn't leave for Orochimaru)

**IMPORTANT! ABOUT ONESHOTS: I HAVE STARTED A NEW STORY CALLED _STRAWBERRY DAYS_ AND IT'S A SERIES OF ONESHOTS FROM THIS STORY. THIS ONESHOT IS POSTED THERE AS WELL.**

-O-O-O-O-

The first time he kisses her at age 12, she slaps him across the face before silently walking away.

He remembers the look in her eyes clearly: quiet fury smoldering in depths of reflective blue. What he doesn't understand is: why did she slap him? He liked her, and she liked him. Right?

They had experienced the Massacre together; they had laughed together, trained together, and attacked Shisui together. When he recalls his childhood, his happy memories, he recalls _her_.

So why was it that she didn't seem to feel the same way?

-O-O-O-O-

The next time he kisses her at age 14, she slaps him on the shoulder and shoots him a frown.

_I'm already dating someone_, she says. _ Don't kiss me_.

He knows already, of course. It was the idiot Inuzuka that she had saved during the invasion of Konoha. She should have just let him stay asleep in the genjutsu and get impaled by the kunai.

_Does it matter?_ he asks. _I like you either way_.

Her eyes narrow (annoyance and offense clashing into a whirl of anger) and she coldly retorts, _Oh, and I suppose it doesn't matter if I don't like you back_.

She storms off again, probably to meet up with the mutt.

_Tch._

-O-O-O-O-

He kisses her again at age 16, and she slaps his hand away from her face.

This time, he sees no issue with anything. She knew he liked her. He knew she broke up with Kiba months ago. They both knew that he was going to kiss her, and they both knew that she had let him before jerking away.

_What now?_ Sasuke asks as he angrily runs a hand through his hair.

_I can't, _she responds. _Not with you._

_Why? Why not me?_

_Because you're going to kill Itachi._

And everything suddenly crashes down around him.

_Unbelievable,_ he whispers. She steps towards him, but he steps away.

_So you're telling me to not go after the man who killed my family? The man who took everything away from me? You know what he did. You _saw_ it, like me._

_Sasuk—_ she tries.

_You saw the blood everywhere. You saw my parents, you saw Fumiko! You saw how he had stabbed her through the heart, how he stabbed his _fiancée_, and the way the blood mixed with her hair. You saw her laying there, eyes clouded. You saw all that, and you want me to let Itachi live?_

He knows that he's gone too far. Her face closes off and she stops trying to reach him.

_I do. I do want you to let him live. You don't know everything that happened that night, Sasuke, and I refuse to believe that Itachi, who loved you and Fumiko and his parents beyond reason, would just mindlessly slaughter his entire clan to "test his strength"._

She leaves him glaring at her chakra residue as she disappears.

-O-O-O-O-

After he learns, he kisses her.

_Please._

She doesn't slap him.

He recalls how Itachi poked him in the forehead before falling. _Sorry, Sasuke. Tell Hikari I'm sorry, again. I love you, Otouto. Maybe another time._

Then he was dead and everything was swirling around him in a vortex of confusion because Itachi shouldn't love him, he shouldn't be sorry, and his entire world is crumbling apart.

Until Danzo approaches him and tears his world down even more.

So he kills him, takes the arm that's implanted with Sharingan, and burns it before heading back to Konoha on autopilot, even though his chakra is almost gone and his injuries are causing him to lose blood at an alarming rate.

And when he makes it back, he immediately goes to her apartment, because he needs someone who will understand.

_Sasuke!_

He startles her when she's making smoke tags, and she hurries him towards her bathroom before pulling out the first aid kit.

_I killed Itachi._

Her hand still, and he can imagine the betrayal flickering across her face, and the words she'll say hanging in the air. He raises his eyes to hers with a weary acceptance, ready to take anything she does, even if it means losing contact with her forever.

Something changes when his eyes meet hers, and she stares back for a moment before slowly beginning to tend to his wounds.

_I see_, she murmurs. The silence stretches until she's done bandaging him, and he blurts, _I know why. I know everything. Danzo told me. I killed him too. Itachi says he's sorry._

He spills everything, burying his face in his hands, and she's horribly still again, mouth dropped.

Then he kisses her while she's still registering his words.

_Please_.

She lets him kiss her one more time before gently leading him to the kitchen.

_You need to eat and rest._

She gives him plenty of water and food, but he can barely keep down a mouthful, so she makes him change into some of Naruto's clothes and go to bed, _You can stay the night, _and when she turns to leave the room, he chokes out, _Don't go. Not now._

She faces him, but he can't meet her eyes again, and instead twists his hands in the covers, seeing Itachi's blood on them even though it had been washed off. He hears her sigh, and the bed sags under their combined weight.

She doesn't comment when he holds her tightly as if he would lose her too.

-O-O-O-O-

He wakes up to a hand stroking his hair.

_Sasuke, you need to get up._

He confuses Hikari for his mother at first, but remembers everything, and can't move.

Itachi, gone. His father, a traitor.

Hikari.

He wraps his arms around her and buries his face into her shoulder, but she pushes him off. _No, Sasuke. You won't heal like this._ And he knows that she's not talking about his injuries.

She urges him to go through the motions, that it'll keep him sane, and he placidly allows her to direct him around, wondering how she knows what to do.

Then he realizes that she was speaking from experience, and muses blankly about who she must have lost to be able to know.

She brings him along for team training, and he tags after her with a vacant expression on his face. Sakura freaks from his wounds and heals him, and Naruto yells nonsense at him like he always does, and Kakashi evaluates him with a keen eye, but Sasuke doesn't do anything except keep red hair in his vision.

He stays the night again.

-O-O-O-O-

The war starts, and he refuses to leave Hikari alone at any time, because he's already lost so many that he won't lose her, but the dead begin to rise and _Itachi is there smiling at him_, and he's fighting with them against the enemy, and Sasuke feels anger and hope and bittersweetness at seeing him again, but when he begins to glow and disappear, Sasuke panics, because Itachi is leaving him again.

Then Hikari is beside him and he can feel her chakra pulsing in the air, and Itachi pokes him, _I love you_, he closes his eyes and accepts that his family is gone.

Sasuke enters the war again with a new motivation, to revolutionize the world so that others won't have to lose everything they hold dear, and he's hopeful, even optimistic of their chances when Kaguya appears.

_I'm going to lose everything again._

But Naruto is dazzling and strong, and Sakura and Kakashi and Hikari are waiting for him, and they beat Kaguya somehow, against all odds, and _they won the war_.

And everyone's hugging each other, and Sasuke sees Naruto glomp Hinata and smirks, before feeling the steady chakra next to him, and turns to Hikari and sweeps her into his arms and kisses her.

Naruto is yelling and Sakura lets out a scandalized shriek and Kakashi just sighs and the others are surprised, but it doesn't matter because the war is _over_, and he's kissing Hikari, and _she's kissing him back_.

He can feel her smiling against his lips, and he knows that even though his blood family is gone, he still has friends that are family, and the future is in his arms, smiling up at him with a shining smile.

-O-O-O-O-

They marry at age 21.

When he moves to kiss her, she grabs his collar and pulls him forward, and _she's_ the one that kisses _him_.

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Well, I'm satisfied with how that turned out.

This was requested by a guest reviewer. **CutieMochi00**, I'm sorry I couldn't do your request, but if I did, that would reveal spoilers, and we wouldn't want that, right?

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last time!

Look toward the close future for the next official chapter of _Reaching_!


	6. Chapter 4

**NOTE: ****_Strawberry Days_**** has been updated.**

_Reaching_

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Credits to Scuro for beta-ing.

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter 4

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!" the man behind the counter greeted as Hikari entered the stand. She halted when she saw bright, yellow hair.

_Naruto. Little brother. Precious. Preciouspreciousprecious._

Her breath hitched and her face suddenly felt very, very warm, and her eyes grew hot before her vision blurred unexpectedly.

_I can't do this._

She sniffled, and saw with (slight) horror that Naruto had heard and was beginning to turn around.

_No! I don't know what to do!_

Hikari panicked. What if he didn't like her? What if he didn't want to be even friends? What if _she_ didn't like _him_?

She froze as their eyes met. They were identical.

Naruto opened his mouth. "Hey, are you okay?"

She only stared back in silence, not daring to breathe. He had a verbal tick too.

"Um, can you speak?" he asked, slightly weirded out. She nodded back, voice stuck and refusing to come out. Finally, she let out a shuddering sigh and blinked rapidly, preparing to turn away, when Naruto said, "You should eat ramen with me!" Then, he added in a timid voice, "Do you wanna?"

He was offering. To her. A stranger he didn't know.

_He wants to get to know me_.

Hikari dropped onto a stool besides him, quietly tucking her feet underneath the seat. "Hey, mister! Can I have another miso ramen over here?" Naruto yelled.

The man yelled back in affirmation, and he told her, "The ramen here is the best! Have you had ramen before? No one else in my class at the Academy likes ramen like me. They're all too busy trying to get Sasuke's attention. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! What's your name?"

"Um, Hikari."

He beamed at her. "You talked!"

She shot a small smile back at him. Encouraged, Naruto continued. "I'm gonna be Hokage one day! Then everyone will have to say that I'm an amazing shinobi! Do you have a dream?"

Did she? Her only goal was to find Naruto, and it was accomplished.

"Not…not yet."

"Then you should try and become a great shinobi too! But not as good as me," he said, "because that means you would be Hokage, and that's my spot."

He blabbered on, and Hikari listened with a patience she didn't know she had. Something warm grew inside her, and she found herself done with her ramen sooner than she expected, much too soon. Naruto's chatter gradually faded as he noticed her empty bowl too.

The inevitable hung over them. He suggested, "I'll order you a new bowl," but Hikari shook her head and abruptly got up, because she knew that if she didn't tear herself away, she wouldn't be able to leave.

A hurt expression flickered across Naruto's face. It was horrible, seeing it there because of her.

_Never unhappy. Please smile_.

"Naruto, do you want to be friends?"

A smile split his face from ear to ear, and she felt arms encircle her, before she heard, "Yeah! I'll be the best friend you ever had! Promise of a lifetime!"

She didn't hesitate to hug back.

-O-O-O-O-

She skipped along the road, humming to herself under her breath. After Naruto had promised, they'd decided to eat at Ichiraku's sometimes after she trained.

"Have fun?"

There was a rustle of paper before Hikari felt a current course through her body, immobilizing her and causing her to drop to the ground. She saw standard Konoha sandals walking towards her before a masked face filled her vision.

_That jerk_.

He used the Electrical Paralysis Seal on her, and judging by the way she couldn't move, he pumped it a quarter-full of chakra.

Earlier, she'd fibbed a little to Fumiko. It was true that Hikari had designed the seal, but Kakashi had been the one to revise and change (almost all of) her work, and she wouldn't have been able to make it without him.

And here he was, using it against her.

She glared at him, channeling all the hate she felt through her eyes, and spiked her chakra wildly, but Kakashi merely smiled at her sardonically.

"I thought you said that you'd hang out with Fumiko, not little Naruto," he sang as he pat her head. Then, his eye opened and she felt him clamp down on her head with a little more force. "And that means you lied."

Her surroundings changed rapidly, and she found herself at the training grounds with a very serious, deadly Jounin, unable to move or talk.

_This is not good._

"You'll be able to move in a few more minutes, but until then, you're going to listen to what I have to say."

Kakashi plopped down in front of her and pointed a finger directly at her nose. "You decided to see Naruto when I did not give permission for you to meet him. In doing so, you've gone against my orders of prohibiting you until you made a friend. Today, you spent time with Fumiko, who you claim to be your friend, but I doubt that that's the truth. You're exceptionally talented at acting, and it would be easy for you to fool stupid little Academy students."

"You're wrong."

The paralysis was gone. She could move. She could speak!

"Fumiko's not a stupid little Academy student. She's smart and nice and skilled, and you never said that I couldn't see Naruto when I told you yesterday! You never gave any orders saying that I couldn't do anything, and I'm going to keep meeting with Naruto. He's my twin, he's family, and I won't let you take him away!"

By now, she was directly in his face, gasping for breath. Her anger flared beneath her skin, and her back was burning in a tickling sort of way.

_Kami, I just yelled. Not only that, I yelled at my sensei_.

But she was willing to do it again to defend her friends and family.

"I see," he hummed, scrutinizing her carefully. "Okay."

_What?_

"What?" she asked out loud, dumbfounded.

"Okay, you can meet with Naruto, as long as you don't tell him anything about the night of your birthdays," he explained. "I decided that you were telling the truth."

Her jaw dropped, and her reasoning skills with it. "Wait, what?"

He stared at her flatly. "This was a test. You passed."

Oh.

"Besides, if Hokage-sama didn't want you to see him, you never would."

_Oh._

"Hikari? Are you listening to me?"

She raised her head slowly. "Sensei…"

"Thank you very much," she said as she bowed 90 degrees.

She would not admit it to herself earlier, but it had been highly unsettling, not knowing if she was allowed to see Naruto or not, and what sort of punishment she would have received had she been wrong. Hikari would still meet Naruto even after being forbidden forever, there was _no way_ she was giving her little ball of sunshine up, but it was good to have approval. It was _nice_.

And deep down, she respected Kakashi and the Third Hokage.

Hikari felt a hand pat her head again, only much more gently.

"Aa," Kakashi said. "It's no problem."

-O-O-O-O-

Hokage Mountain was beautiful at sunset.

Hikari could see the entire village stretched out in front of her from her vantage point on the Second Hokage's head. The setting sun bathed the sky in streaks of red and yellow, highlighting the clouds with a golden red that instantly caused a wash of warmth and comfort to come over her. She closed her eyes and laid back.

_It's so soothing. Like Naruto._

She jolted upwards when she felt a certain flinty chakra approach. Stumbling to her feet, she whipped around. "Hokage-sama!"

He grinned wryly at her around his pipe. "Hello there, Hikari. Have a seat."

She lowered herself to the same spot as before, only sitting up. She winced as the Hokage slowly crouched down. _I know he's the strongest shinobi in Konoha, but he's old._

"I hear that you met Naruto today?" he asked after taking a puff of his pipe.

A smile automatically broke out on her face. "Yes, I did."

He quirked his lips as he took in her expression. "How did you find him?"

She struggled to find the right word that described Naruto. Bright. Warm. Open. Loud. Soothing. Hated. Joyful.

"He's wonderful," she said, eyes lighting with joy.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the sun. After it set, when the sky was still streaked by a glow of purple, Hikari spoke.

"I have a question."

The Hokage's eyes flicked to her, and she took it as a confirmation to ask.

"Whenever I think of Naruto, my insides become warm and tingly," she explained. "Why does it do that?"

He began chuckling, before resting a hand on her head.

"It's love."

-O-O-O-O-

Hikari settled into a happy pattern of days. She'd go to the Academy and sit with Fumiko, whispering and laughing about various things, then either spend time with her afterwards (to which Shisui, Itachi, and/or Sasuke joined, maybe even at Fumiko's house) or train, then meet with Naruto for ramen.

One notable time, she commented on how Naruto didn't eat healthy.

"Ehhhhhhh, Hikari, but vegetables are icky!"

"Naruto, you still need to eat them if you want to grow."

"You're like a nee-chan! Hikari-nee!"

Her heart skipped a beat, and she nearly cried. Naruto wouldn't stop calling her "Hikari-nee" from then on, even when she told him that they were the same age (and secretly, she was very, very pleased with this development).

Time passed and Hikari found herself turning 8. She lied about her birthday, of course, saying that it was on April 30th, but it was still lovely to receive various presents from others.

Fumiko gave her a hair needle while pointing to her own hair, which was half-up in a bun with a similar needle speared through. "It's good as a backup weapon, if you ever find yourself without anything."

Shisui presented her with a scroll on Katon (Fire Style) Jutsu. "You probably don't know what your chakra nature is, but it doesn't matter!"

Itachi gave her a standard set of kunai and shuriken. "Happy birthday."

Sasuke, instead of giving her anything, showed off his new _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_. He turned around and smiled at her smugly, ignoring the smoke streaming out of his mouth.

But Naruto, sweet, wonderful Naruto, gave her a light blue ribbon. "I know it's not much!" he said, toeing and frowning at the ground, "But your hair is pretty and it matches your eyes!"

She attacked him with a hug.

So the days passed on with relatively no change, always happy.

Until one day, Fumiko didn't show up for class for three days in a row.

_Strange. I wonder if everything is ok?_

Hikari rushed to the Uchiha Compound after class. When she reached the gate she always used, she found a human wall blocking her way.

"No one other than clan members are allowed."

She pursed her lips and left. When she was sure that the guards weren't looking, she circled around to a gateless point in the fence surrounding the district and prepared to jump over.

"Hikari-san?"

Hikari whipped her head around, scared witless but prepared to run. When she saw that it was Itachi, she relaxed.

"Itachi-san, nice to see you. I was wondering if I could see Fumiko-chan; I was worried because she hasn't shown up for school," she said.

Itachi stared at her for a while, never looking away. Hikari began to grow apprehensive, wondering what happened.

_Come to think of it, Itachi looks more tired than usual._

"Fumiko's grieving."

_What?_

He continued without pause.

"Hikari-san, Shisui is dead."

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: And that's a wrap!

Sorry I didn't update for a really long time! I got WRITER'S BLOCK (that darn thing), and for me, I learned that instead of trying to churn out something, it's better to let it pass and focus on something else.

That being said, I'm still not satisfied with this chapter.

Well, shit is starting to hit the fan now, so the pace of the story will pick up after this chapter. Plus, more Takahiro and Kakashi coming up soon!


	7. Notice

Hey guys, it's me, the author.

I'm sorry about the lack of an update; I've had writer's block for a reaaaaaally long time (even at school, my essays are just death). Also, we had finals week, which was also death, and now I'm heading into the busiest time of the year for me. My updates will be slower.

Don't worry! I am going to update! In fact, I'm trying (TRYING) to update by the end of today, for both Reaching and Strawberry Days.

And for everyone who reviewed: thank you for the feedback! I received mixed reviews about the oneshot in the middle of the of the story, so let me say this: **THAT ONESHOT IS NOT CANON. I REPEAT, THAT SASUKExHIKARI ONESHOT IS NOT CANON (IN THIS STORY). **It was just a little preview of possible requests and such that I would write and post in Strawberry days.

And for **kimchi759** and **OrangeInk101a**: Thanks so so so much for the constructive feedback! I'll keep your points in mind.

To all reviewers: Reviewing is a way for me to improve and grow in story writing, and you guys always catch things that I probably wouldn't have, so THANK YOU AGAIN.

Stay tuned for an update!


	8. Chapter 5

Reaching

LilacLilyFlower © 2009

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

-O-O-O-O-

AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY FUMIKO IS IN THE SAME CLASS AS HIKARI: If you remember, in the manga, Naruto was given the chance to graduate at least twice before he graduated with his age group. This means that he could have graduated early, so I decided that in my story, I'll have students of all ages in the same classes, and put in the class that has the most compatible teacher for them.

**STRAWBERRY DAYS HAS BEEN UPDATED (WITH AN AU THAT I REALLY LIKE)**

-O-O-O-O-

Chapter 5

_There are suspicions that it was a homicide by a resentful shinobi. That is all I can tell you._

Shisui.

_I will escort you home; the streets are no longer safe._

Dead.

_And Hikari-san, please take care from now on._

How could someone so strong and happy be gone, just like that? Why would someone want to kill a person so full of love for others?

Shisui, who secretly doted on his sister. Shisui, Itachi's closest friend. Shisui, who always pretended to lose whenever she and Sasuke wrestled him. Shisui, someone she considered-

_An older brother._

Always full of life and care. He would never muss up her hair and call her Strawberry again. He would never try glomping Itachi again, only to fall. He would never breathe, smile, laugh, cry, or do any of the things Uchiha didn't really do again.

Hikari sat on her bed, thoughts racing through her mind with a numbing speed. Soon, her thoughts became a dull wave of shock. She vaguely noted the sound of her lock being picked, but she didn't move to arm herself. What was the point? Shisui, a shinobi far more superior to her, had been killed. Chakra sense (which she refused to use, she couldn't feel Shisui's gritty chakra anymore), mediocre Fuinjutsu, it wouldn't help protecting her against someone who had killed Shisui.

Her bed sagged as someone else sat next to her on it. When a large hand rested itself on her head, Hikari knew who it was.

"You learned," Kakashi said, not really asking.

She didn't respond, didn't even blink. She didn't know if she could speak and translate her halted thoughts into coherent sentences.

_Shisui._

_Gone._

_What?_

_Not strong?_

_Gone._

_Gone._

_Gone._

_Why?_

Hikari heard Kakashi sigh. "I brought someone. You can come in now."

Tiny footsteps, quiet as if afraid to startle a tense animal. Tan, skinned knees entering her vision. Orange shorts.

"Nee-chan?"

Naruto's call snapped her eyes towards his baby blues. Worry. Creased brows.

"Nee-chan, I brought ramen. Let's eat!"

Precious. Naruto was precious. Shisui was precious too. And he was gone.

Hikari lunged at Naruto, and, ignoring his yelp, wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face into his shoulder. Then, she released a shuddering breath as her eyes grew hot. There was a wetness in her eyes.

_Shisui won't ever see me cry. He won't see anything now._

Shisui was dead. As the shock faded and the full realization hit, Hikari's form spasmed with explosive sobs. She clung to Naruto's shirt as her legs collapsed, and they both fell to the ground with a thud.

"Um, uh, Nee-chan, don't cry!" Naruto flailed as he panicked. Hikari ignored his awkward attempts to comfort her, because Naruto was safe and warm and bright and his chakra and heartbeat were pulsing steadily and that was what she needed right now. _Life_.

She cried until her eyes were swollen red and too heavy to keep open, so she fell asleep clutching Naruto to her tightly, as if he would disappear too.

-O-O-O-O-

(Kakashi's POV)

A breakdown, over the death of an Uchiha.

He understood that very, very well.

His mind wandered (but not too far, because an Uchiha died, and no one knew how, so there could be more potential targets if someone really was going around killing others) to his memories of Obito's death.

_"I never got you a present, huh? Take my Sharingan."_

_"No, you're going to live. You're going to be okay!"_

_"Rin, do it."_

_"I-I don't know if I can."_

"Mister?" a young voice called. Kakashi flicked his eyes over to Naruto, who was staring up at him with apprehension.

Ah, Hikari fell asleep.

He pried her hands off of Naruto's shirt and hefted her onto her bed. As an afterthought, he placed a pillow between her arms.

_For nightmares._

"Come on," he said to Naruto. "She needs to sleep now."

Naruto shuffled behind him as they left the apartment (and Kakashi took extra care to set up chakra-identification seals and traps). He turned to leave, but stopped when a small hand grasped at his pants.

"Mister, will she be okay?"

He considered the tiny boy before crouching down. "Hikari is very hurt right now. She can't see one of her friends ever again, so she's sad."

"But will she be okay?"

Grimacing slightly under his mask, Kakashi gave a quick, curt nod. "She will, because she's strong."

Naruto's eyes lit with hope. "You promise?"

Hesitating before answering, he said, "Yes."

Naruto bounded away with a bright smile—_so much like Kushina oh Kami_—and a whoop. Kakashi stared after the direction he had left in before abruptly traveling to the Stone.

He berated himself for being so weak and returning to this spot so quickly. It was, after all, the reason why Hokage-sama had taken him off the ANBU roster.

"Obito, one of your clansmen died. Hikari broke because of it."

_Just like me. And I promised that she would be okay, because she was strong. _

_I thought I was strong too, but look at me, talking to a stone._

"I'm such a hypocrite, Obito. I pretend that I'm okay, and I teach her things that I used to teach myself, and whenever she asks if it's trustworthy, I just say, 'It must be, since I used it'. I see so much of Sensei and Kushina in her, I don't know what to do."

_I'm obsessed, Obito. With you and Rin and Sensei and Kushina and my father and everyone that died and left me behind_.

_Help_.

-O-O-O-O-

(Takahiro's POV)

He didn't want to admit that he watched Strawberry, but she was absent for almost a week now.

That Uchiha girl, Fumiko, returned after a while, and whispers had erupted as soon as she had set a foot inside the door. Takahiro heard snippets of _death_ and _brother_, so he assumed that Fumiko's brother had died. And Strawberry had been a friend of Fumiko, so she probably knew him.

But to be gone longer than Fumiko? That made no sense.

So after class that day, he'd gone to the administrative building and asked for her address, then ran there.

Takahiro stood in front of the door, wondering what he was doing. This was Strawberry, after all, the girl that his parents always compared him to. The girl who had it all.

_But she doesn't have it all. Her friend died. And she has no family._

Resolving to muddle his way through a conversation with her, he knocked on the door three times.

"Hey, it's me, Takahiro!"

There was no response, no sound on the other side of the door.

Scowling, he knocked again, more than three times.

"Oi, let me in!"

When there was still no response, Takahiro felt his anger act up. Rearing his fist back, he pounded the door.

"STRAWBERRY, ANSWER THE—"

The door flew open and his fist was caught by her.

She stood in front of him, shoulders drawn inward. Her clothes were wrinkled, her hair still in two barely recognizable, dirty pigtails and tangled and matted to her face, shadowing her eyes. Her skin was too pale (it was always pale, but she looked like paper), and her body gaunt and smelly.

"Don't..." she rasped. It was clear that her voice hadn't been used for a long time. Her hand tightened around his fist painfully, and her voice grew louder and more enraged with each word. "Don't ever call me that again!"

She lifted her head, and he caught a glimpse of enlarged eyes full of cold fire before she threw his hand back and slammed the door.

Or at least, tried to.

"Move your foot."

"No," he refused. _I should just agree and leave._

"Move. YOUR. FOOT!"

She opened the door and pulled her foot back to kick him, but he wasn't first in Taijutsu for nothing. He grabbed her supporting leg and pulled it towards him, causing her to fall down. She quickly retaliated by doing a handspring into his face, but he blocked and grabbed her wrists in one hand, and pulled a kunai out with the other, pointing it at her throat.

"Listen to me! And don't think that I'm not watching your legs," he warned. "If you move I will use this."

She eyed him doubtfully. "You don't have the guts to kill me."

"I can still hurt you."

"You'll get in trouble."

"I won't do it, just listen to me."

"I don't want to. Go away."

His eyebrow twitched. "Come on, you're already up and talking! You might as well! You can go back and mope after!"

She bristled like an angry squirrel. "I do not mope."

Takahiro looked her up and down. "I'm sure. Strawberry," he started, then amended when he saw the cold fury begin to descend into her eyes, "H-Hikari, you're a mess right now. Have you even eaten?"

She opened her mouth, then paused, as if she genuinely didn't remember the last time she ate. "I...don't know."

He stared at her in disbelief. "And you want to be a shinobi? When you can't even take care of yourself? Quick, what's the third requirement to enter the Academy?"

" 'Be healthy in body and mind'," she immediately recited. Then, she faltered slightly before explaining. "But, I don't know if I even want to be a shinobi anymore."

Takahiro felt like he had been punched in the face. Strawberry- _Hikari_, he corrected- was going to give up? His rival, giving up?

"No," he said. "You want to be a shinobi."

She stared at him. "How can I? How can I when Shisui" - her face twisted briefly- "was killed? He was so strong and brave, I would die too!"

"Then get stronger! Don't die until you're old with grandchildren!" Takahiro shouted, grabbing Hikari by her shirt. "Live and make sure that no one else will die too! Protect! Don't you have people you want to protect? Don't you have people you want to have around you and laugh with? Live and get stronger so you can stay by their side!"

Her eyes widened, and a new resolve (or old, he didn't really know) appeared in her eyes, her face, her stance. She looked down at the ground before chuckling. "I'm kinda stupid, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are. I can't believe you're my rival."

She abruptly stopped chuckling, and looked him straight in the eye. "Thanks, Takahiro-kun. You're kinda cool when you're all serious like that."

He flushed awkwardly before looking away. "Shut up, I'm always cool." Deeming it safe, he let go of her shirt. "Anyways, you'll come to class tomorrow, right? Fumiko came back."

She hummed in agreement, face slightly darkening after hearing Fumiko's name. "Hey, Takahiro-kun, I'm going to graduate this year," she announced, determination filling the air.

Taken aback, Takahiro gaped, then recovered his senses. "I won't lose to you! I will too!"

Unknown to either of them, Kakashi sighed and smiled, relieved, concealed by a small genjutsu._ I guess I kept my promise for once._

-O-O-O-O-

(Hikari's POV)

She returned to class the next day.

Everyone stared at her when she entered the room, head held high. She gazed coolly back as if she had never been absent. They stared even more when she completely ignored Fumiko and instead sat by Takahiro, who was as surprised as everyone else.

"You're not going to sit with Fumiko?"

"No." And that was that.

During break, Hikari raced up to Ichijou, and on second thought, ran back, snagged Takahiro, and returned to her sensei.

"Sorry for the interruption," she said as Ichijou stopped grading papers, "but we'd like to know how we can graduate this year."

Ichijou scrutinized the two of them, remaining silent for some time. When he finally spoke, it was with a voice full of warning and skepticism. "It will be grueling work, with almost no free time, to get up to the level required to graduate."

"We'll do it!"

"Then let's set aside extra time. When are you two free?"

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: I'M BAAAAACK!

This chapter was an absolute monster to write! But I did it! I subdued the monster and tamed it!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed; you are all absolute darlings.

Remember that you can request anything (not just romance, although I do need the practice) for Strawberry Days! I would prefer it if you requested it through that story though, not this, because it would keep things more organized.

And if you read the latest chapter of Strawberry Days, you'll see that it's a High School AU. I was thinking of writing a spinoff of this story in that AU, so tell me what you think!

See you next time!


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